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Thag 17.3 PTS: Thag 1034-36- Ananda Thera: Ananda Alone(excerpt)
Tipitaka >> Sutta Pitaka >> Khuddaka Nikaya >> Theragatha >> Ananda Thera: Ananda Alone(excerpt) 'Translated from the Pali by : Andrew Olendzki © 2005' ---- 'Thag 17.3 PTS: Thag 1034-36- Ananda Thera: Ananda Alone(excerpt)' Translator's note These mournful words were uttered by Ananda in the Theragatha, the Poems of the Elders, and reveal a very human side of one of the canon's most sensitive characters. Ananda was the Buddha's cousin and personal attendant, and was always to be found at the master's side throughout the many years of wandering and teaching. As Ananda put it: "For twenty five years I served the Lord with loving deeds, loving words and loving thoughts — when the Buddha paced to and fro, I paced along behind." It is Ananda who washed his feet at the end of the day, who arranged his interviews and protected his solitude as best he could, and who tended him lovingly during his final illness. It is Ananda also who we find weeping bitterly at the passing away of the Buddha, and being gently admonished for it by the teacher of non-attachment to changing phenomena (D16:5.14). After the Buddha's final passing Ananda seems to have been treated somewhat badly by some of the other monks, who were jealous of his close relationship with the master. Poems like this one suggest that Ananda passed a lonely old age and never ceased mourning for his beloved teacher and friend. **************** 1034. All the directions are obscure, The teachings are not clear to me; With our benevolent friend gone, It seems as if all is darkness. 1035. For one whose friend has passed away, One whose teacher is gone for good, There is no friend that can compare With mindfulness of the body. 1036. The old ones have all passed away; I do not fit in with the new. And so today I muse alone Like a bird who has gone to roost. ---- Description from BuddhaSasana www.budsas.org 5 Aug 2015 Ananda Ananda was one of Prince Siddhattha’s cousins. His father was Amitodana, a younger brother of King Suddhodana. As his birth brought a lot of happiness to his family he was named Ananda. He was born on the same day as Prince Siddhattha. Ananda was ordained as a monk in the second year of the Buddha’s ministry, when he was thirty-seven years old. Shortly after, hearing a sermon by the Ven. Punna Mantaniputta, he attained the first stage of sainthood, Sotapanna. When the Buddha was fifty-five years old, Ananda became His personal attendant. The Buddha addressed the assembled monks and informed them that He had many attendants who had assisted him periodically but none of them had been able to fulfil their duties perfectly. "It is time" he said, "to have a reliable, trustworthy attendant." He then asked if any of the assembled monks would like to be His personal attendant. All the noble ones gathered immediately responded to His request by offering their services. Ananda, however, who dearly wished to be His attendant, modestly held back, thinking, "The Buddha would surely appoint me if I were the most suitable person." The Buddha, with His divine eye, observed that many eons ago Ananda had aspired to be a personal attendant of a Buddha, the fulfilment of which was to occur during His reign. Refusing the offers of the other monks, He turned to Ananda and offered the post to him. Ananda agreed to accept the post if the Buddha would agree to eight conditions. Four of them related to the non-acceptance of gifts and favours from the Buddha. Ananda wanted to ensure that there would be no doubts cast that he had accepted this position in order to obtain material gain. The other four related to the performance of his duties while being mindful of his own advancement in the Noble Path. The Buddha agreed to Ananda’s requests. The fact that Ananda felt comfortable in asking the Buddha, whom he loved and respected and to whom he was loyal, for a conditional acceptance, illustrates the relationship between the Buddha and His monks and the manner in which the Buddha ran His ministry. The Buddha was the undisputed leader. But there was no fear under His reign. Monks felt free to voice their opinion and to question the Buddha at will. In truth, the term personal attendant does not convey all the duties and responsibilities carried out by Ananda. In addition to taking care of all the Buddha’s personal needs Ananda was an executive assistant to the Buddha and helped in the management of His large retinue of monks, nuns and devotees. He also had the unique advantage of hearing most of the Buddha’s discourses and because of his unusually retentive memory, was declared the Guardian of the Dhamma. To attain the position of personal attendant of a Buddha, one needs to aspire to the position and perform many meritorious deeds over a period of 100,000 world cycles. Ananda made this aspiration 100,000 world cycles ago, at the time of the Buddha Padumuttara. At that time he was born as Sumana, the younger half-brother of the Bodhisatta Gotama (known at that time by the name Jatila). He provided the requisites during the three months of the rainy season to the Padumuttara Buddha and His retinue of 100,000 monks. He then aspired to be the personal attendant of a future Buddha. The Buddha Padumuttara looked into the future and saw that this aspiration would be fulfilled. He informed Ananda that in 100,000 world cycles he would be the personal attendant of the Buddha Gotama. From this time onwards Ananda continued to perform meritorious deeds to fulfil his aspiration. In addition to being the Guardian of the Dhamma, Ananda was well-known for two other important events that he initiated. They were the planting of the Ananda Bodhi and the founding of the order of the nuns. Many persons came to Jetavana to pay homage to the Buddha and to learn His teachings. Sometimes when they came, the Buddha was away helping a person in distress. As many had travelled long distances to see Him and were disappointed, Ananda asked the Buddha what could be done to help these disappointed devotees. The Buddha then asked Ananda to bring a sapling from the Bodhi Tree in Buddha Gaya and plant it in Jetavana. He then said: "In my absence, let my devotees pay homage to the great Bodhi Tree that gave me protection during enlightenment. Let the Bodhi Tree be a symbol of my presence. Those who honour the Bodhi Tree would in essence be honouring and paying homage to me." Ever since that time, Buddhists from all over the world have venerated the Bodhi Tree as they would the Buddha, with scented water, flowers and incense. Many uninformed persons have misunderstood this symbolic action by saying that Buddhists worship trees. The Buddha statue, the Bodhi Tree, the relics of the Buddha, are but symbols of the Buddha that people use to focus the mind on the compassionate and serene qualities of the Buddha. The veneration of the Buddha provides the tranquillity and peace of mind that many people cannot readily acquire to meditate, study, and listen to His teachings. It was at Ananda’s request, on behalf of Maha Pajapati, that the Buddha instituted the order of the nuns. The Buddha had initially refused Maha Pajapati Gotami’s request to be ordained. It was after Ananda’s question as to whether women were incapable of reaching spiritual heights and the Buddha’s reply that women were as capable as men of reaching spiritual heights, that the Buddha had agreed to the formation of the order of the nuns. As such, women had a special regard and respect for Ananda. This, together with his pleasing nature, made Ananda very popular. It is said that there were none who spoke ill of Ananda or were envious of him despite his honoured position and proximity to the Buddha. The documented past life stories of Ananda reflect that he was seldom a god (unlike his stepbrother Anuruddha) and seldom an animal (unlike his cousin Devadatta). Ananda was often a human and in many births was the brother of the Bodhisatta. Even though Ananda was very learned and knowledgeable, he only reached the first stage of sainthood, Sotapanna, during the lifetime of the Buddha. His deep attachment to the Buddha prevented him from attaining Arahanthship. As a result, he was not aware of the exact moment when the Buddha passed away. Thinking that the Buddha had attained Parinibbana, he informed his stepbrother Anuruddha. Anuruddha, who was an Arahanth, observing with his divine eye that this was not the case, clarified to Ananda that the Blessed One had not yet passed away. He had reached a meditative stage known as Cessation of Perception and Feeling. Shortly after the Buddha’s Parinibbana, on the day of the First Council of the Dhamma, (Sangayana) Ananda attained Arahanthship. Ananda was designated by the Buddha as the leader in five categories. They were: Erudition Retentive memory Good behaviour Steadfastness Ministering of care Thirty of Ananda’s verses have been preserved in the Theragatha which illustrate his encouragement to associate with good friends and those well-versed in the Dhamma. Ananda declared the Theragatha verses to inspire others to follow his example as the Guardian of the Dhamma. He also encouraged others to carefully examine and understand the teachings prior to their practice. Ananda passed away at the age of one hundred and twenty. The Dhammapada states that as people on both sides of the River Rohini wanted his relics, Ananda preached the Dhamma to the people while seated in the air in the middle of the river and wished that his body would split in two with one part falling on one bank of the river and the other part on the other bank of the river. He then entered the ecstatic meditation on fire. Flames instantly issued from his body and, as willed, one portion of his relics fell on one side of the river while the other portion fell on the other side. The people then enshrined his relics in stupas so that they could honour him. Ananda’s greatest contribution to the Dhamma occurred three months after the Parinibbana of the Lord Buddha. The Buddha had declared Ananda as the guardian of the Dhamma because of his retentive memory. At the First Sangha Council, Ananda, under the direction of Maha Kassapa, led the five hundred Arahanths in the recitation of the Teachings and helped in the codification of the Dhamma. This method of preservation of the Dhamma was used again in later years. The second Sangha Council was led by one of Ananda’s pupils.